Question Thinking of Side mount?

[50BarBill]

Hi new diver here, after posting on here the other day I’ve been thinking of the future of my diving. I started diving for the dream of doing caves/over head diving. A couple of guys at my club are getting into back mount doubles and I can’t help but think, if eventually I want to progress into overhead is it worth me going straight to side mount instead of going into back mount and then into side? And on the other hand is side mount still practical in less technical dives? Are people using side mount to do 20m dives or is it more of a technical specialised piece of equipment.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I use sidemount for all my cave dives.

 

[JohnN]

I just finished my first "real" SM dives (I did a short pool session to confirm weighting and trim). I did both single and double tank dives. To my relief, I had no stability issues with the single tank dives. Giant stride from the boat was also no problem

If you're reasonably experienced, skip any formal classes and find a SM diver to help you sort things

FWIW, with a Hollis Katana the magic position for the bottom of the 2" webbing is 20" from the middle of the valve

 

[The Chairman]

I use sidemount for all my cave dives.

Please, show us pics of your setups, Jim.

 

[lostsheep]

FWIW, with a Hollis Katana the magic position for the bottom of the 2" webbing is 20" from the middle of the valve

I’m calling straight up BS. 20” might be YOUR magic number but there are way too many variables to make a sweeping generalization like that.

EDIT: maybe get a few more sm dives in before you start telling people they don’t need an instructor or how to set up there gear.

 

[Rilelen]

I really think it’s personal preference; try both if you can and see what you prefer. I’m primarily backmount because I just like it better, but do switch to sidemount when it’s a better choice for the cave - maybe 70% backmount, 30% sidemount?

If you prefer sidemount, you don’t have to do backmount first.

 

[JohnN]

I’m calling straight up BS. 20” might be YOUR magic number but there are way too many variables to make a sweeping generalization like that.

EDIT: maybe get a few more sm dives in before you start telling people they don’t need an instructor or how to set up there gear.

Ok. What do you use for the distance from the tank valve to the bottom boltsnap for AL80's?

 

[lostsheep]

Match the measurement from your arm pit down to the lower clip point and this is your STARTING POINT.

There is no magic number and my number is meaningless to everyone except me

 

[PEDiver]

A couple of guys at my club are getting into back mount doubles and I can’t help but think, if eventually I want to progress into overhead is it worth me going straight to side mount instead of going into back mount and then into side?

Probably not a popular answer these days since most people seem to be in the "either/or" camp, but why not dive both? You will find that for certain dives, BM is much easier. Other dives will require SM. I feel like I've greatly benefited from diving both configurations. Sure, it does cost more money since you will need a separate BCD for BM and SM and you will most likely have two regulator sets. But if you're getting into cave diving to save money, boy do I have bad news for you.

 

[grantmac]

I learned sidemount perhaps 20 dives into my recreational experience (coming over from military).
I use it for more than 90% of my non working dives and don't see that changing. I have backmount setups that I use on occasion but I have a strong preference for sidemount. Yes even on a boat. I especially like traveling with sidemount gear since I can dive doubles or single tank with perhaps 5 minutes to change setup and no additional equipment.

The biggest issue is quality of instruction varies a lot and you have to learn what a correctly trimmed set of tanks feels like then how to make any tank sit how you want or you will be stuck with just one tank option. That removes a lot of flexibility from your setup.